For the past six years, Big West Student Athlete Advisory Committees across each of the Big West campuses have set aside the month of February to conduct their coin drive, collecting any loose change that fans could spare to donate to a charity of their choice. We had the privilege to sit down with Pacific’s Danielle Neault, one of the founding student athletes of the SAAC Coin Drive and still a strong advocate today, to share with us how the Coin Drive came to be and why.

As a former student athlete for the Tigers, Neault held council on the National SAAC her freshman year in 2006 and then was appointed the president of the campus-run PSAC her junior year.  During the annual conference meeting with the Big West SAAC representatives in 2008, the recommendation for a conference-wide charity competition was made, marking the birth of the Big West Coin Drive.

“Our main goal as the Big West Conference SAAC was to help out our community,” said Neault.  “We had passionate student athletes that were competitive on the field and in the classroom, but they were also passionate about helping the community and giving back on a larger scale.”

For the last five years, conference members have joined in raising awareness for their specifically chosen charity, and given back to the community in a monumental way.  Currently, each school donates three-quarters of its collection to its charity and the other twenty-five percent to the winning institution’s charity.

“It is refreshing to see over the years students come together and bring new ideas to the table, improving the ideas we had when we started to make it better,” Neault said.

At this point, over $56,000 has been raised over the life of the coin drive, and leading the race is none other than Neault’s alma mater, Pacific, having raised $12,000 and winning three of the five Coin Drive titles.

“Pacific is very competitive and successful in holding up their title,” said Neault with confidence. “It is neat to see them all come together to strive to win the Coin Drive one last time in the Big West.”

Neault continues to bleed orange and black as the current Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Services for the Tiger’s Athletic Department.  She still helps with the SAAC ran Coin Drive every year, but on a larger scale gives back to the student today with her service.

She has gone from player to graduate assistant to fulltime employee for the Pacific Tigers, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Being a former Tiger, I speak from experience when I tell them I know what it is like to be a student athlete, and in the end it’s all worth it."


The sixth annual Big West SAAC Coin Drive hits the halfway point this week, with the ten Big West institutions well on their way to surpassing last year's total of $10,787.14.  Reigning champions Pacific having brought in a total of $2,428.37 so far, with the newest Big West member, Hawai'i, hot on the Tigers' heels with $2,040 collected.  Cal State Northridge sits third at the halfway point with $1,186.95 in their coffers.

The Big West SAAC Coin Drive runs through the end of February, as each school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee collects coins for the charity of their choice.  The school that brings in the most money for their charity will also receive 25% of each of the other institutions' collections to add to their donation.

SCHOOL	CHARITY	MONEY RAISED
Pacific	St. Joseph's Foundation for Breast Health Services	$2,428.37
Hawai'i	Hawai'i Pacific chapter of the American Cancer Society	$2,040.00
Cal State Northridge	San Fernando Valley Community Health Center: 100 Citizens Program	$1,186.95
UC Irvine	UCI Medical Center - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit	$701.14
Long Beach State	City of Hope	$679.00
Cal Poly	CURE International (SLO)	$420.00
Cal State Fullerton	Orangewood Children's Foundation	$274.80
UC Riverside	Highlander Elementary	$155.49
UC Davis	Short Term Emergency Aid Committee (STEAC)	$150.00
UC Santa Barbara	Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation	$150.00
TOTAL (through 2/14)		$8,187.75